Restaurants in Charlottesville, VA

[Irene]

Hi, we are vacationing in Virginia for the first time at the end of the month.  Anyone familiar with the downtown mall area of Charlottesville and can recommend safe restaurants?  Are there safe chain restaurants in that area that are not found in Massachusetts?  We have to avoid peanut and shellfish.  Thank you!

[maeve]

It's been several years, but we safely had lunch at The Nook in the Downtown Mall area. We had dinner at Margaritaville one night; while we ate safely, the staff could have been more allergy aware. We were only there overnight; we live in northern Virginia so it was a quick weekend trip.

[krasota]

I live here, but I'm allergic to too much and I don't eat out.

I can ask around.

There aren't any chain restaurants on the Downtown Mall, except for maybe a yogurt place.  The Five Guys closed.    Lots of local places, though.   There's a local pizza place (by the slice), Christian's, that was peanut/shellfish free the last time I ate there, but that was over a decade ago.  And Just Curry (lunch place) might be okay.  I had to stop eating there because the owner switched oils when they re-opened after a hiatus.  The owner will readily tell you anything/everything in the food, though.

I have multiple food allergies, so I don't pay attention to new restaurants, sadly.  I'm sure there are a couple places that could easily accommodate, but I'm kinda clueless.  Looks like the new pie place does both shrimp *and* peanut butter. 

Out on 29 in the new Stonefield shopping center, there's a restaurant that is supposed to accommodate anything.  It's a chain from up your way, though, Burton's Grill.  And they do serve calimari and crabcakes, I see.  I haven't called them to see if they feel like being challenged.  :p

[hezzier]

We have been to more than one location of Burton's Grill and they are very accommodating.  The server asks when they come to the table if anyone in the part has any food allergies.  DS usually gets a cheeseburger with no bun and french fries.  We do not deal with shellfish allergies, but it would be worth a call to them.

[krasota]

Himalayan Fusion might be worth a call.  I don't think they serve shellfish and while I know they serve cashew-sauce dishes, I'm not sure they use peanuts. 

Rapture may or may not be okay on any given day.  It's also worth a look-see.

[krasota]

Brazos Tacos doesn't appear to have any nuts on the menu.  They do have pepitas, which could be cross-contaminated.  It's at the Ix Art Park near the Downtown Mall.  A local friend said that the chef seemed knowledgeable about food allergies and his ingredients.  I have no experience there myself.

[Irene]

A belated thanks for your suggestions.  We ended up going to a place called Zinburger.  Our friend in Charlottesville, whose daughter also has a peanut allergy, recommended it.  My son enjoyed the burger!